I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

On Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:17:40 -0800, Doug wrote:

I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

Sounds like insufficient tension. If you're using a 3/8" blade set the
tension to the mark for 1/2" as a starting point. If it's the factory
blade consider spending the 30 bucks for a half-inch woodslicer
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1293.
Don't force it, let it go at its own pace--try for a steady rate instead
of fast.

If you don't have "The Bandsaw Book" by Lonnie Bird or "Band Saw Handbook"
by Mark Duginske you might want to pick up one or the other or both. Both
have good sections on resawing and on picking blades for the purpose.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Doug wrote:
I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

The latter, mostly. Need wider blade and more tension for resawing.
Larger is better, also skip-tooth designed for resaw will help. The
larger blade will also minimize the need for really high tension.

Sounds like a set-up problem. Beam strength on a 3/8ths blade may be an
issue, and you might try different tooth profiles. I get good results
with a 1/2 inch hook-type blade with around 5-6 TPI. Check your blade
guides and bearings for proper positioning, and blade tension, also.
Tom
Doug wrote:
I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

I would say setup. I have a similar 14" Grizzly and it has worked well
for oak and pine, but I have used a resaw blade (grizzly's 1/2" 3TPI).
Generally wider and fewer teeth for resawing but our 14" saws probably
can't tension a blade wider than 1/2". Get Lonnie Bird's Bandsaw
book if you need more details. He recommends 6-12 teeth in the
material (5.5" * 10 TPI = 55 teeth in your setup) and says that bowing
is most likely a result of too little tension. Get the right blade and
go slow and I'll bet you'll be happy with the results!


My blade:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/H8644

Don't forget to wear a dust mask!

The latter, mostly. Need wider blade and more tension for resawing.
Larger is better, also skip-tooth designed for resaw will help. The
larger blade will also minimize the need for really high tension.


Don't you mean that the larger blade will allow/tolerate more tension?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

Doug wrote:

I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)


Try a blade few fewer TPI. Also note that some brand blades perform
better than others. I had the same problem when I first got my Grizzly
G1019 (with the riser kit). Originally I was using Grizzly's 1/2" - 3
TPI blade. Dumping the Grizzly blade and using a Suffolk Timberwolf
1/2" - 3 TPI blade solved my problem.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

Stoutman wrote:
The latter, mostly. Need wider blade and more tension for resawing.
Larger is better, also skip-tooth designed for resaw will help. The
larger blade will also minimize the need for really high tension.


Don't you mean that the larger blade will allow/tolerate more tension?
....

That's true, but what I was driving at was that the need to
over-tension a narrower blade is alleviated by the heavier/wider blade
since they're stiffer.

I noted while in the libarary ( ) after the previous post the
Grizzly catalog rates the 14" guy as able to handle a 3/4" blade --
whether it has the strength as some other poster noted to adequately
tension it or not, I don't know as don't have a Grizzly, but would
_assume_ so as Grizzly gear typically will do what they say it
will...as a compromise, the 1/2" skip-tooth would probably be good
place to start...

Nova wrote:

Try a blade few fewer TPI. Also note that some brand blades perform
better than others. I had the same problem when I first got my Grizzly
G1019 (with the riser kit). Originally I was using Grizzly's 1/2" - 3
TPI blade. Dumping the Grizzly blade and using a Suffolk Timberwolf
1/2" - 3 TPI blade solved my problem.


Agree totally
- 1/2"
- 3 tpi
- SHARP, clean blade (a blade with gunk on it or dull is ok I guess
for rough cutting - but just barely )
- tensioned properly (tTry the "flutter method" for tensioning.
Expose as much of the blade as you can. Tension as you
normally have done. Turn on the saw. If the blade is
fluttering - add tension 'til it stops fluttering. If it isn't
fluttering - reduce tension 'til it starts to flutter then
add just enough tension to stop the flutter. Keep your
body parts well away from the exposed blade!)
- hook tooth -deeper gullet for sawdust space while in the wood
- proper feed rate, erring on the side of slower rather than faster
- guides set within a dollar bill's thickness of blade
- a fence that is square to the table and adjusted for blade
"drift/lead" (you can try and follow a line on the board but
even with a "single point of contact guide", you're apt to wander.
Decent fence will eliminate or greatly reduce one source of error)

My bet on the source of the problem
- not enough blade tension
- too many tpi
- gullets not deep enough to hold the sawdust "out of the way"

charlie b

In article . com, "Doug" wrote:
I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

It's mostly a matter of the wrong blade. 3/8" is a bit narrow for resawing,
and 10tpi is definitely too fine. You'd be much better off with a 1/2" 3tpi
blade. You probably don't have enough tension on the blade, either, and you
may be feeding the stock too fast -- but start with a blade that's better
suited to resawing, then experiment with tension and feed rates.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Sat, 09 Dec 2006 09:16:50 -0800, dpb wrote:

Stoutman wrote:
The latter, mostly. Need wider blade and more tension for resawing.
Larger is better, also skip-tooth designed for resaw will help. The
larger blade will also minimize the need for really high tension.


Don't you mean that the larger blade will allow/tolerate more tension?
...

That's true, but what I was driving at was that the need to
over-tension a narrower blade is alleviated by the heavier/wider blade
since they're stiffer.

I noted while in the libarary ( ) after the previous post the
Grizzly catalog rates the 14" guy as able to handle a 3/4" blade --
whether it has the strength as some other poster noted to adequately
tension it or not, I don't know as don't have a Grizzly, but would
_assume_ so as Grizzly gear typically will do what they say it
will...as a compromise, the 1/2" skip-tooth would probably be good
place to start...

They all _say_ that they'll take a 3/4" blade. Don't bet on many of 'em
actually _doing_ it.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 09 Dec 2006 09:16:50 -0800, dpb wrote:

snip

They all _say_ that they'll take a 3/4" blade. Don't bet on many of 'em
actually _doing_ it.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

My Jet will take a 3/4" blade, but it is a push adjusting it to where
nothing is rubbing that shouldn't be rubbing. I normally use a 1/2" blade.

I think it was "J. Clarke" who stated:

On Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:17:40 -0800, Doug wrote:

I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

Sounds like insufficient tension. If you're using a 3/8" blade set the
tension to the mark for 1/2" as a starting point. If it's the factory
blade consider spending the 30 bucks for a half-inch woodslicer
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1293.
Don't force it, let it go at its own pace--try for a steady rate instead
of fast.

I'll second the suggestion for a Woodslicer -- HEARTILY! I was having
trouble resawing oak (that I felled in my own backyard) with my Delta
14" BS with the blade it came with. I switched to a Woodslicer and it
performed BEAUTIFULLY!
--
"Trust me, there is NO way to nonchalantly conceal the fact that you have a
power tool in your head, no matter what you do." -- El Gato

On 9 Dec 2006 14:00:27 GMT, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

On Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:17:40 -0800, Doug wrote:

I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

Sounds like insufficient tension. If you're using a 3/8" blade set the
tension to the mark for 1/2" as a starting point. If it's the factory
blade consider spending the 30 bucks for a half-inch woodslicer
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1293.
Don't force it, let it go at its own pace--try for a steady rate instead
of fast.

If you don't have "The Bandsaw Book" by Lonnie Bird or "Band Saw Handbook"
by Mark Duginske you might want to pick up one or the other or both. Both
have good sections on resawing and on picking blades for the purpose.

I've been using Timberwolf blades. How do they compare with
Woodslicers?

I seem to recall that Timberwolf blades claim to be properly tensioned
with less tension than indicated with the scale on the bandsaw.

However it happens, for me, my resaws all run beautifully with a 1/2"
3 tpi Timberwolf blade on my Delta 14" bandsaw.

It always comes down to a good blade with sharp teeth.

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 02:50:15 +0000, George Max wrote:

On 9 Dec 2006 14:00:27 GMT, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

On Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:17:40 -0800, Doug wrote:

I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

Sounds like insufficient tension. If you're using a 3/8" blade set the
tension to the mark for 1/2" as a starting point. If it's the factory
blade consider spending the 30 bucks for a half-inch woodslicer
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1293.
Don't force it, let it go at its own pace--try for a steady rate instead
of fast.

If you don't have "The Bandsaw Book" by Lonnie Bird or "Band Saw Handbook"
by Mark Duginske you might want to pick up one or the other or both. Both
have good sections on resawing and on picking blades for the purpose.

I've been using Timberwolf blades. How do they compare with
Woodslicers?

Don't really know. I'm still waiting for the Olsens that I got with my
saw to wear out grin. They're working fine but when I wear out the half
inch I'll probably go for a Woodslicer. If it works better than the Olsen
it has to be phenomenal.

I seem to recall that Timberwolf blades claim to be properly tensioned
with less tension than indicated with the scale on the bandsaw.

However it happens, for me, my resaws all run beautifully with a 1/2" 3
tpi Timberwolf blade on my Delta 14" bandsaw.

It always comes down to a good blade with sharp teeth.

Yep. And properly tensioned--was going to cut three slices out of a piece
of cebil tonight and only got one the thickness I needed because I forgot
to set the tension.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

As the others have mentioned, a wider blade would be good but your
biggest problem is tooth count. 10 TPI is way to many teeth in the cut.
It will make you have to push to hard and that leads to deflection.
Doug wrote:
I own a grizzly "ultimate" 14" bandsaw, and have tried on a few
ocassions to resaw with terrible success. I've tried with and without
fence. Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut. Like
the other times, the blade winds up bowing pretty dramatically during
the cut giving me two cupped boards of varying thicknesses that are
virtually useless. Does this seem to be a matter of technique or
setup??? (I'm using a 3/8 bladeabout 10TPI I guess)

On 10 Dec 2006 04:30:19 GMT, "J. Clarke"
wrote:



It always comes down to a good blade with sharp teeth.

Yep. And properly tensioned--was going to cut three slices out of a piece
of cebil tonight and only got one the thickness I needed because I forgot
to set the tension.

With a bandsaw - true. Very true.

But I also meant table and miter saw blades too. May as well include
all hand tools too!

Sharp matters.

Doug wrote:

Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut.

Try a narrower blade and not worrying about the tension so much.

Ideally you'd have a 3" blade and plenty of tension (like the Hitachi
resaw machine) However you can't do this - a typical hobbyist-market
14" machine can't tension anything over 1/2". It'll track a 5/8", maybe
even a 3/4", but the available tension / cross section is falling off
so much by this time that the resaw performance is actually getting
worse -- particularly you'll see barrelling.

If you go _narrower_, then the blade tends to bow _backwards_ instead
of sideways. Not perfect, but better than a barrelled cut.

But really, to resaw 5 1/2", you just want something with bigger wheels
and more frame.

In article . com, "Andy Dingley " wrote:

Doug wrote:

Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut.

Try a narrower blade and not worrying about the tension so much.
^^^^^^^^
You misspelled "wider".

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 02:50:15 GMT, George Max
wrote:


I've been using Timberwolf blades. How do they compare with
Woodslicers?

I seem to recall that Timberwolf blades claim to be properly tensioned
with less tension than indicated with the scale on the bandsaw.

However it happens, for me, my resaws all run beautifully with a 1/2"
3 tpi Timberwolf blade on my Delta 14" bandsaw.

It always comes down to a good blade with sharp teeth.

IME:
Timberwolf is a mediocre blade at an above-mediocre price.
Woodslicer is an outstanding blade at a premium price
Olsen is a very good blade at a reasonable price.

Olsen is the blade I use from day to day. Woodslicer is the blade that use when
I need a really perfect resaw. Timberwolf is a blade I won't bother buying
again.

(I have a 14" Delta BS)

As always, YMMV

To reply by e-mail, use jcarlson631 at yahoo dot com

John

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 13:13:05 -0800, Andy Dingley
wrote:

Doug wrote:

Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut.

Try a narrower blade and not worrying about the tension so much.

Ideally you'd have a 3" blade and plenty of tension (like the Hitachi
resaw machine) However you can't do this - a typical hobbyist-market 14"
machine can't tension anything over 1/2". It'll track a 5/8", maybe even
a 3/4", but the available tension / cross section is falling off so much
by this time that the resaw performance is actually getting worse --
particularly you'll see barrelling.

If you go _narrower_, then the blade tends to bow _backwards_ instead of
sideways. Not perfect, but better than a barrelled cut.

But really, to resaw 5 1/2", you just want something with bigger wheels
and more frame.

Andy, just a comment here but I'm so far not having any trouble resawing 6
inch wide stock with my nice shiny new 14" Craftsman. Doesn't have any
trouble shaving 1/16" veneer off of quina (Janka side hardness 2200,
almost twice that of white oak, not quite in the concrete-with-leaves
category but getting there) which is the hardest thing I've cut with it
successfully so far--I did mess up a piece of cebil (well into concrete
with leaves territory) but I screwed that up by the numbers--not the saw's
fault. If it will handle that kind of stuff, ordinary temperate-zone woods
shouldn't be giving it any trouble.

I wouldn't want to put _more_ than a half inch blade in it--but it handles
the half-inch just fine.

If I was doing resawing all day every day I'd want more saw, but for me
for now it's quite adequate.

IMO, considering the way Craftsman is regarded by the community as a whole
and considering what I'm cutting with it, anybody having trouble resawing
6 inch wide stock with any decent quality 14" band saw needs to look more
at his setup than at getting a bigger saw.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 03:00:25 +0000, J. Clarke wrote:

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 13:13:05 -0800, Andy Dingley
wrote:

Doug wrote:

Last night I tried to resaw a 5 1/2 wide piece of Walnut.

Try a narrower blade and not worrying about the tension so much.

Ideally you'd have a 3" blade and plenty of tension (like the Hitachi
resaw machine) However you can't do this - a typical hobbyist-market 14"
machine can't tension anything over 1/2". It'll track a 5/8", maybe even
a 3/4", but the available tension / cross section is falling off so much
by this time that the resaw performance is actually getting worse --
particularly you'll see barrelling.

If you go _narrower_, then the blade tends to bow _backwards_ instead of
sideways. Not perfect, but better than a barrelled cut.

But really, to resaw 5 1/2", you just want something with bigger wheels
and more frame.

Andy, just a comment here but I'm so far not having any trouble resawing 6
inch wide stock with my nice shiny new 14" Craftsman. Doesn't have any
trouble shaving 1/16" veneer off of quina (Janka side hardness 2200,
almost twice that of white oak, not quite in the concrete-with-leaves
category but getting there) which is the hardest thing I've cut with it
successfully so far--I did mess up a piece of cebil (well into concrete
with leaves territory) but I screwed that up by the numbers--not the saw's
fault. If it will handle that kind of stuff, ordinary temperate-zone woods
shouldn't be giving it any trouble.

While it wasn't a very long piece, I can report now that it goes right
through 5-1/2 inch wide lignum vitae. Taking 1/32 off in the planer
cleaned it right up. Seemed to have less trouble with that than the
quina in fact. Gonna have to rip another piece tomorrow though--the resaw
wasn't any trouble at all but I cut the bloody piece too short--trust
me to get the hard part right and screw up the easy one.

The saw is definitely better than I am right now.

I wouldn't want to put _more_ than a half inch blade in it--but it
handles the half-inch just fine.

If I was doing resawing all day every day I'd want more saw, but for me
for now it's quite adequate.

IMO, considering the way Craftsman is regarded by the community as a
whole and considering what I'm cutting with it, anybody having trouble
resawing 6 inch wide stock with any decent quality 14" band saw needs to
look more at his setup than at getting a bigger saw.


--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

J. Clarke wrote:

They all _say_ that they'll take a 3/4" blade. Don't bet on many of 'em
actually _doing_ it.


My HF 14" with a riser kit has had a 3/4" blade on it since the day I
got the riser kit installed.

If a HF saw will handle it, it seems likely that just about any other
would. After all, they almost all cost more than the HF saw.

Bill


---
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Virus Database (VPS): 0655-1, 12/08/2006
Tested on: 12/11/2006 1:37:16 AM
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http://www.avast.com

John wrote in
:

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 02:50:15 GMT, George Max
wrote:


I've been using Timberwolf blades. How do they compare with
Woodslicers?

I seem to recall that Timberwolf blades claim to be properly tensioned
with less tension than indicated with the scale on the bandsaw.

However it happens, for me, my resaws all run beautifully with a 1/2"
3 tpi Timberwolf blade on my Delta 14" bandsaw.

It always comes down to a good blade with sharp teeth.

IME:
Timberwolf is a mediocre blade at an above-mediocre price.
Woodslicer is an outstanding blade at a premium price
Olsen is a very good blade at a reasonable price.

Olsen is the blade I use from day to day. Woodslicer is the blade that
use when I need a really perfect resaw. Timberwolf is a blade I won't
bother buying again.

(I have a 14" Delta BS)

As always, YMMV

To reply by e-mail, use jcarlson631 at yahoo dot com

John


I bought one Timberwolf blade. I will never buy another. If a company
can't even get the welded ends aligned properly, there is no point in
continuing. I should just throw the blade away as I doubt I will ever use
it.

charlie b wrote in news:457B0855.3B03
@accesscom.com:

Nova wrote:

Try a blade few fewer TPI. Also note that some brand blades perform
better than others. I had the same problem when I first got my Grizzly
G1019 (with the riser kit). Originally I was using Grizzly's 1/2" - 3
TPI blade. Dumping the Grizzly blade and using a Suffolk Timberwolf
1/2" - 3 TPI blade solved my problem.


Agree totally
- 1/2"
- 3 tpi
- SHARP, clean blade (a blade with gunk on it or dull is ok I guess
for rough cutting - but just barely )
- tensioned properly (tTry the "flutter method" for tensioning.
Expose as much of the blade as you can. Tension as you
normally have done. Turn on the saw. If the blade is
fluttering - add tension 'til it stops fluttering. If it isn't
fluttering - reduce tension 'til it starts to flutter then
add just enough tension to stop the flutter. Keep your
body parts well away from the exposed blade!)
- hook tooth -deeper gullet for sawdust space while in the wood
- proper feed rate, erring on the side of slower rather than faster
- guides set within a dollar bill's thickness of blade
- a fence that is square to the table and adjusted for blade
"drift/lead" (you can try and follow a line on the board but
even with a "single point of contact guide", you're apt to wander.
Decent fence will eliminate or greatly reduce one source of error)

My bet on the source of the problem
- not enough blade tension
- too many tpi
- gullets not deep enough to hold the sawdust "out of the way"

charlie b


I have tried the "flutter" method and it was a bad experience. The blade
never fluttered until it came off the wheels.

I go with the scientific methods that Iturra suggests.

Doug Miller wrote:

Try a narrower blade and not worrying about the tension so much.
^^^^^^^^
You misspelled "wider".

Just **** off and try it, OK ?

Or else get a grown-up to read the whole post to you.

In article om, "Andy Dingley " wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:

Try a narrower blade and not worrying about the tension so much.
^^^^^^^^
You misspelled "wider".

Just **** off and try it, OK ?

Or else get a grown-up to read the whole post to you.

What's the matter, Andy, forget your meds today? Wider blades work better for
resawing than narrow blades do. Despite what you may think, having a narrow
blade bow backwards is *not* a good thing.


--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Doug Miller wrote:

Wider blades work better for resawing than narrow blades do.

Of course they do, so long as the saw frame's up to the job. Working
with typical 14" machines, it isn't. The surprising thing is that going
narrower can deliver a better performance. I'd like to claim credit for
this innovation, but I can't -- I'm just lifting it straight out of
Duginske. It works though.

Now go and try it before you give your sarcastic response. It's not
perfect, but it "works" and it's certainly an improvement on typical
performance.

wrote in message
ps.com...

Doug Miller wrote:

Wider blades work better for resawing than narrow blades do.

Of course they do, so long as the saw frame's up to the job. Working
with typical 14" machines, it isn't. The surprising thing is that going
narrower can deliver a better performance. I'd like to claim credit for
this innovation, but I can't -- I'm just lifting it straight out of
Duginske. It works though.

Now go and try it before you give your sarcastic response. It's not
perfect, but it "works" and it's certainly an improvement on typical
performance.


Suffolk has .025 3/4 that works beautifully, and I've used a lot of
different blades. It has a tooth pattern which differs from their normal,
and the teeth do not appear to have been flame hardened. It's listed as an
AS-S with a 5-raker set

Not to mention a 20% off sale until the end of the year on any five blades.

Andy Dingley wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:

Wider blades work better for resawing than narrow blades do.

Of course they do, so long as the saw frame's up to the job. Working
with typical 14" machines, it isn't. The surprising thing is that going
narrower can deliver a better performance. I'd like to claim credit for
this innovation, but I can't -- I'm just lifting it straight out of
Duginske. It works though.

Now go and try it before you give your sarcastic response. It's not
perfect, but it "works" and it's certainly an improvement on typical
performance.


Some personal experience wider is better.

I've got the Laguna Tools LT16SEC bandsaw - 2.5 hp TEFC
220/240 V motor, originally with the Euro guides, now with
LT's ceramic guides.

When I got the saw I also ordered a 1" and 1 1/4" wide blade
for it, intending to do some resawing at or close to the saw's
max throat capacity of a tad over 12". Figured, like Doug, that
Wider Is Better.

Here's what I quickly discovered
1. unfolding a 130" one inch wide, or wider, bandsaw blade is
FREAKIN' SCARY. I went with the Take It Out In the Yard,
Throw It and Run Like Hell In The Opposite Direction
unfolding method
2. getting a big wide blade on the bandsaw wheels and between
the guides is not a whole lot of fun since it wants to stay
round and you're trying to make it into sort of a tight
oval while attempting to keep its teeth from removing
parts of your skin.
3. some blade guides won't accomadate a wide blade
4. even with "low tension" blades, tensioning a 1 - 1 1/4"
blade is not easy on the bandsaw tension spring, frame
- or bearings. The tension spring is also supposed to
be a shock absorber. If you bottom it out and hit a
hard knot or the like, the impact goes right to your
bearings which is not good for them or the shaft they
are riding on.
5. though even an eighth of an inch blade can do a lot of
damage in an instant, having the larger, nastier looking
teeth on a 1 - 1 1/4" blade spin up is somehow a LOT
SCARIER.
6. with twice as much blade area in the cut and the very little
set of the teeth on a resaw blade, there's more surface
area in the wood - getting gunked up and generating friction
- the latter having to be overcome by pushing harder AND
heating things up in the cut.

So, from my personal experience resawing, including slicing
less than 1/16th inch thick veneer off of 6-8" cherry, walnut,
spruce, redwood, elm, sycamore and ipe (don't bother with IPE)
- a 1/2" wide, 3 tpi, hook tooth blade works just fine - assuming
a) it's sharp
b) it's tensioned "just enough" (see Flutter Tensioning Method
in my earlier post)
c) your table is square to the blade
d) your fence is square to the table
e) your fence is set to the blade's drift/lead line
f) you feed at the rate the blade will cut well, or
just a little slower
g) you're not cutting "reactive"/ "case hardened" wood

Michael Fortune, a great Canadian woodworker, uses his
bandsaw a lot, preferring to use it to rip boards rather
than use a table saw. He does a lot of thick veneer slicing
and laminate work. He recomends inexpensive, 1/2", 3 tpi
hook tooth blades and changes blades at the first hint of
dullness or friction. And by inexpensive, he's talking $8-$10
blades, which he sends out for resharpening and buys them
in 10 packs.

Now when you think about it, the teeth on the blade are
getting the same wear, be they on a 1/2" blade or a 2"
blade. they'll both dull at about the same rate. So when
one gets dull, will you replace the $10 to $20 blade sooner
than you would a $40-$60 blade?

In some cases, wider is better, or so one auto maker says.
When it comes to resawing wood - It Ain't So!

charlie b
waiting for Doug's response/ comments on my specific
points

"charlie b" wrote

Here's what I quickly discovered
1. unfolding a 130" one inch wide, or wider, bandsaw blade is
FREAKIN' SCARY. I went with the Take It Out In the Yard,
Throw It and Run Like Hell In The Opposite Direction
unfolding method.

I had to laugh at this one. I had a friend who had a small metal fabrication
shop with a heavy duty, cut off band saw that could cut through thick steel.
And he unfolded his bandsaw blades the exact same way as you described
above. He considered it the most dangerous job in his shop.

I always thought this would be a good video for AFV. Something about grown
men fleeing in fear is funny to watch.

In article , wrote:

waiting for Doug's response/ comments on my specific
points

I didn't mean to appear to be suggesting that wider is better, without limit.

However, the OP was trying to resaw with a 3/8" blade, IIRC, and having
problems -- and a certain individual's advice that he should try to fix those
problems by going to a blade which is even narrower doesn't make any sense at
all. Particularly on the grounds that he offered, namely that a narrower blade
will deflect backward instead of barrelling -- the narrower the blade, the
less its resistance to deflection in *all* directions. The objective should be
to reduce deflection, not encourage it.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Lee Michaels wrote:

"charlie b" wrote

Here's what I quickly discovered
1. unfolding a 130" one inch wide, or wider, bandsaw blade is
FREAKIN' SCARY. I went with the Take It Out In the Yard,
Throw It and Run Like Hell In The Opposite Direction
unfolding method.

I had to laugh at this one. I had a friend who had a small metal fabrication
shop with a heavy duty, cut off band saw that could cut through thick steel.
And he unfolded his bandsaw blades the exact same way as you described
above. He considered it the most dangerous job in his shop.

I always thought this would be a good video for AFV. Something about grown
men fleeing in fear is funny to watch.


It's not "fleeing in fear", it's "taking all reasonable precautions"
aka
"due diligence". I adopted this wide bandsaw opening technique after
watching a sawyer with a BIG WoodMizer type bandsaw do it as a
matter of course. You really have to witness a bandsaw blade this
size unfurl - the loud TWANG! noise sticks in your head - forever.

I forgot to specify that when using this method, you should take
the normal precautions folks in the explosive field use including
the siren and flashing red lights to warn anyone within range to
clear the site or get in a bunker. Also recomend yelling Fire In
The Hole, Fire In The Hole, Fire In The Hole rather than yelling
Five, Four, Three, Two, One before hruling that sucker - wearing
thick leather gloves of course. Found that going with The
Count Down tended to attract accountants and other bean
counters onto the range and they're hard to get rid of.

charlie b

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:08:37 -0500, John
wrote:

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 02:50:15 GMT, George Max
wrote:


I've been using Timberwolf blades. How do they compare with
Woodslicers?

I seem to recall that Timberwolf blades claim to be properly tensioned
with less tension than indicated with the scale on the bandsaw.

However it happens, for me, my resaws all run beautifully with a 1/2"
3 tpi Timberwolf blade on my Delta 14" bandsaw.

It always comes down to a good blade with sharp teeth.

IME:
Timberwolf is a mediocre blade at an above-mediocre price.
Woodslicer is an outstanding blade at a premium price
Olsen is a very good blade at a reasonable price.

Olsen is the blade I use from day to day. Woodslicer is the blade that use when
I need a really perfect resaw. Timberwolf is a blade I won't bother buying
again.

(I have a 14" Delta BS)

As always, YMMV

To reply by e-mail, use jcarlson631 at yahoo dot com

John

Interesting. What, specifically, has led to your conclusions?
Quality of the cut? Visual appearance of the blade? Length of time
until it became dull?

I'm interested. Please elaborate.

"George Max" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:08:37 -0500, John
wrote:

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 02:50:15 GMT, George Max

wrote:


I've been using Timberwolf blades. How do they compare with
Woodslicers?

I seem to recall that Timberwolf blades claim to be properly tensioned
with less tension than indicated with the scale on the bandsaw.

However it happens, for me, my resaws all run beautifully with a 1/2"
3 tpi Timberwolf blade on my Delta 14" bandsaw.

It always comes down to a good blade with sharp teeth.

IME:
Timberwolf is a mediocre blade at an above-mediocre price.
Woodslicer is an outstanding blade at a premium price
Olsen is a very good blade at a reasonable price.

Olsen is the blade I use from day to day. Woodslicer is the blade that
use when
I need a really perfect resaw. Timberwolf is a blade I won't bother
buying
again.

(I have a 14" Delta BS)

As always, YMMV

To reply by e-mail, use jcarlson631 at yahoo dot com

John

Interesting. What, specifically, has led to your conclusions?
Quality of the cut? Visual appearance of the blade? Length of time
until it became dull?

I'm interested. Please elaborate.

I had an old FWW out yesterday and there was an article that applied.
Specifically, the bandsaw resaw blade test (M/A '04) Woodslicer came out on
top with a 3-4 tpi hook blade. It was the *only* blade that scored an
excellent in the smoothness test. The value blade was BC saw at $10. The
Olson MVP was right behind the Woodslicer.
FWIW, YMMV, etc, etc, etc....

jc